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LABORATOIRE ECOLOGIE ET EVOLUTION

UNIVERSITE PIERRE ET MARIE CURIE (PARIS,

FRANCE)Behavioral ecologist, dedicated mainly to queen morphology Behavioral ecologist, dedicated mainly to queen morphology

and reproductive conflicts in ants, specially in the subfamily and reproductive conflicts in ants, specially in the subfamily

PonerinaePonerinae..

Interesting Results: (1) Control over reproduction in

Diacamma involves mutilation of an exocrine gland

(gemmae); (2) In queenless ants, reproductive status is

signaled by changes in the cuticular hydrocarbons profile;

(3) defined and (4) synthesized most of the current

knowledge on the variety and evolution of queen

morphology of ants

References: (1) Naturwissenschaften 76, 177–180 (1989); (2) Animal Behavior 68, 1209–

1219 (2004); (3) Insectes Soc. 38, 1–15 (1991); (4) Annu. Rev. Entomol. 46, 601–30 (2001)

Source: AntWeb

CHRISTIAN

PEETERS

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PAULO S. OLIVEIRA

DEPARTAMENTO DE BIOLOGIA ANIMAL

UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL DE

CAMPINAS (CAMPINAS, BRAZIL)

Research: has contributed significantly to Research: has contributed significantly to

the understanding of antthe understanding of ant--plant interactions plant interactions

and behavioral ecology of ants as well.and behavioral ecology of ants as well.

Interesting Results: (1) ant-tended treehoppers have increased

survival and reproductive output; (2) ant protection results in

decrease of herbivory and increase of fruit set (Opuntia); (3)

Ponerinae ants affect distribution and survival of seedlings of a

primarily vertebrate-dispersed plant; (4) magnetic nanoparticles

in the head of a ponerine ant are likely to be associated with (5)

seasonal migratory patterns.

References: (1) Oecologia 124: 156-165 (2000); (2) Functional Ecology 13: 623-631 (1999); (3) Journal of Ecology 90: 517-528

(2002); (4) Journal of Experimental Biology 202: 2687-2692 (1999); (5) Naturwissenschaften 88: 343-346 (2001)

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WARWICK E. KERR

Institute of Genetics and Institute of Genetics and

BiochemistryBiochemistry

Federal University of UberlandiaFederal University of Uberlandia

UBERLANDIA, BRAZILUBERLANDIA, BRAZIL

Research: has greatly contributed to the genetics of caste Research: has greatly contributed to the genetics of caste

and sex determination in social insects. Although retired and sex determination in social insects. Although retired

since 1992, Dr. Kerr (88 years old) still works as a since 1992, Dr. Kerr (88 years old) still works as a

‘‘volunteervolunteer’’ professor.professor.

Interesting Results: (1) Genetic caste determination in

Melipona; (2) Importance of weight in division of labor within

workers of Apis mellifera ; (3) A. mellifera adansonii and A.

mellifera lingustica interbreed in natural conditions; (4) Found

that the sound production by bees is key to the understanding

of the evolution of communication about food sources in

Apidae.

References: (1) Genetics, 35: 143-152 (1950); (2) Evolution, 18: 267-270 (1964); (3) Evolution, 24:

145-148 (1970); (4) Science, 3681: 320-321 (1965).

MandyamSrinivasanHead of Sensory and Visual Neuroscience,

Queensland Brain Institute.

Inaugural Australian Federation Fellow

�He has spent the past 20 years studying how honey bees

detect, chase and intercept moving targets, avoid

collisions, and land smoothly every time.

�With a background in engineering, including a PhD in engineering and applied science from

Yale, US.

�While his PhD was officially in engineering, my lab was actually in the medical school and

my professor was an ophthalmologist working with butterfly eyes.

�Moving to the Australian National University in Canberra in 1978, Srinivasanbuilt a

multidisciplinary team that became the focus of national and international.

�interested in understanding the principles of visual processing in small animals, such as

insects, that possess relatively simple nervous systems but nevertheless display a rich

behavioural repertoire. Publications:Lehrer M., Srinivasan M.V., Zhang S.W. and Horridge G.A. (1988) Motion cues provide the bee's visual world with a third dimension. Nature (Lond.) 332, 356-357.

H. Esch, S.W. Zhang, M.V. Srinivasan and J. Tautz (2001) Honeybee dances communicate distances measured by optic flow. Nature 411, 581-583.

M. Giurfa, S.W. Zhang, A. Jenett, R. Menzel and M.V. Srinivasan (2001) The concepts of “sameness” and “difference” in an insect. Nature 410, 930-933.

Reinhard, J., Srinivasan, M.V. and Zhang, S.W. (2004) Scent-triggered navigation in honeybees. Nature (Lond.) 427, 411.

By Vishwas

Prof. Laurent Keller

Professor and Head

Department of Ecology and Evolution

Faculty of Biology and Medicine.

Who is Who

Research Interest: aging, genomics, kin recognition, sex ratios, cooperation, altruism, and

communication. During the last six years he has explored the use of robots as a tool for

biological research

Education

1983 B.Sc. University of Lausanne, Major Biology

1985 M.Sc. University of Lausanne, Major Biology

1989 Ph.D. University of Lausanne, Major Zoology

Selected Publications:

Matsuura K., Himuro C., Yokoi T., Yamamoto Y., Vargo E.L., Keller L., 2010. Identification of a pheromone

regulating caste differentiation in termites. PNAS 107(29), 12963-12968.

Wang J., Chen P.J., Wang G.J., Keller L., 2010. Chromosome size differences may affect meiosis and genome

size. Science 329(5989), 293.

Schwander T., Keller L., 2008. Genetic compatibility affects queen and worker caste determination. Science

322(5901), 552.

By Vishwas

Almut Kelber

Professor of Lund Vision group

University of Lund, Sweden

•Diploma-1989, majors in animal physiology, botany,

electronics and psychology. Universities of Mainz and

Tübingen.

•PhD (1993) at the Biocybernetics Department at the

University of Tübingen-- studied flight control and visual

orientation in a stingless bee.

•In 1998, I joined the Vision Group in Lund where I now work

as a Professor of Sensory Biology.

Research Interests: are general principles of colour vision and have been working on many

Different animals including horses, seals, geckos, birds, butterflies, moths and bees.

One of my special interests is the threshold of colour vision in dim light.

•Kelber, A., Balkenius, A. & Warrant, E. J. (2002) Scotopiccolour vision in

nocturnal hawkmoths. Nature 419, 922 – 925.

•Somanathan, H., Borges, R. M., Warrant, E. J. and Kelber, A. (2008). Nocturnal

carpenter bees learn landmark colours in starlight. Curr. Biol., 18, R996-R997.

Who is who?

By Vishwas

Professor of BehaviouralGenetics

The University of Sydney

Ben Oldroyd Who is Who?

Research Interest: behavioural genetics and the

evolution of social behaviour in social insects (Asian

honeybees and now with Trigona).

He has bred a unique strain of bees in which workers lay eggs

with high frequency. These 'anarchistic' bees will provide a

superb resource for investigating the mechanisms by which

worker sterility is maintained in normal colonies.

Work experience: worked at LaTrobe University (1992-1995),

the USDA bee lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, (1989-1992),

and the Victorian Department of Agriculture (1985-1989).

Reference:

Rinderer, T.E., Stelzer, J.A., Oldroyd BP, Buco, S.M. and Rubink, W.L. (1991) Hybridization

between European and Africanized honey bees in the neotropical Yucatan peninsula. Science

253: 309-311.

Hughes WOH, Oldroyd BP, Beekman M &Ratnieks FLW. (2008) Ancestral monogamy shows

kin selection is key to the evolution of eusociality. Science 320:1213-1216.

By Vishwas

Barbara L. Thorne

University of MarylandEntomology Department, Professor

Ph.D. 1983 Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard

M.A. 1978 Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard

B.A. 1976 Biology, Brown

Evolution of eusociality in termites

-Accelerated Inheritance hypothesis

-primitive termites

Evolution of the soldier caste

-reproductive soldiers are precursor to sterile soldiers

-intercolonial aggression towards the other colony’s reproductives

Thorne, B. L., N. L. Breisch and M. L. Muscedere. 2003. Evolution of eusociality and the soldier caste in

termites: influence of intraspecific competition and accelerated inheritance. PNAS, 100 (22) 12808-

12813.

Thorne, B.L. 1997. Evolution of Eusociality in Termites. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 28: 27-54By Lisa Wang

Charles W. WhitfieldUniversity of Illinois, Assistant Professor

Department of Entomology, Neuroscience Program,

Program in Ecological and Evolutionary Biology

Ph.D. – Stanford University, 2000

B.S. – UC Davis, 1994

Molecular mechanisms and molecular evolution of social

behavior

Use microarrays to associate gene expression in the brain with

different behaviors in honeybees

Working on developing an efficient and low-cost genotyping

resource for the honeybee

Use bioinformatics to indentify DNA sequences that regulate

gene transcription

Sen Sarma M, Whitfield CW, Robinson GE. Species differences in brain gene expression profiles associated with adult behavioral

maturation in honey bees. BMC Genomics. 2007. Jun 29;8:202.

Whitfield CW, Cziko AM, Robinson GE. Gene expression profiles in the brain predict behavior in individual honey bees. Science. 2003.

Oct 10; 302(5643):296-99.

Whitfield CW, Band MR, Bonaldo MF, Kumar CG, Liu L, Pardinas JR, Robertson HM, Soares MB, Robinson GE. Annotated expressed

sequence tags and cDNA microarrays for studies of brain and behavior in the honey bee. Genome Research. 2002. Apr; 12(6):555-66.

By Lisa Wang

Sean O’DonnellUniversity of Washington

Animal Behavior Program,

Department of Psychology,

ProfessorPh.D. Zoology and Entomology, 1993; M.S. Entomology,

1989 – University of Wisconsin

B.S. Biology, 1986 – Saint Joseph’s University

•Regulations of division of labor in paper wasps

•Evolution of the brain structure in social insects

•Community ecology of army ants and their avian

associates

O’Donnell, S., N.A. Donlan, & T.A. Jones. 2004. Mushroom body structural plasticity is associated with temporal polyethism in eusocial wasp

workers. Neuroscience Letters 356: 159-162.

O'Donnell, S. 2001. Worker age, ovary development, and temporal polyethism in the swarm-founding wasp Polybiaoccidentalis (Hymenoptera:

Vespidae). Journal of Insect Behavior 14: 201-213

O'Donnell, S., A. Kumar & C. Logan. 2010. Army ant raid attendance and bivouac-checking behavior by Neotropicalmontane forest birds. Wilson

Journal of Ornithology 122: 503-512. By Lisa Wang

Kenji Matsuura

Associate ProfessorLaboratory of Insect EcologyGraduate School of Environmental ScienceOkayama University

Interesting Results: (1) Termite queens adjust egg size according to colony development (2) Identification of a pheromone regulatingcaste differentiation in termites (3) Cuckoo fungus mimics termite eggs by producing the cellulose-digesting enzyme beta-glucosidase

References: (1) Matsuura K., Himuro, C., Yokoi T., Yamamoto Y., Vargo E. L. and Keller, L.: Identification of a pheromone regulating caste differentiation in termites. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Published online before print July 6, 2010, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1004675107 (2) Matsuura, K. and Kobayashi N.Termite queens adjust egg size according to colony development. Behavioral Ecology 2010; doi: 10.1093/beheco/arq101 (3) Matsuura, K., Yashiro, T., Shimizu, K., Tatsumi, S. and Tamura, T.: Cuckoo fungus mimics termite eggs by producing the cellulose-digesting enzyme beta-glucosidase. Current Biology, 19, 30-36 (2009).

By Scott Trageser

Dr. Mathieu LihoreauSchool of Biological and Chemical

Sciences

Queen Mary, University of London

Broadly interested in the

evolution of sociality in

arthropods. A major goal of his

research is to understand why

and how individuals organize in

social groups, be them loose

aggregates or highly integrated

colonies.

2009 - present: Postdoctoral researcher

- Queen Mary, University of London

"Bees and the travelling salesman

problem: how tiny brains solve complex

cognitive tasks"

2005-2009: PhD - University of Rennes 1

"Organization and functioning of social

groups in a gregarious cockroach:

another insect society".

2003-2005: Master’s degree – University

of Rennes 1 "Percepetion of conspecifics

and kin recognition in a presocial insect

Blattella germanica". "Chemical analyses

of Spanish ants of the genus

Aphaenogaster".

2002-2003: Bachelor’s degree –

University of Tours By Scott Trageser

Dr. Nico Blüthgen

Faculty of Biology, University of Würzburg

1999-2003 Research for Dissertation (‘How

availability and quality of nectar and honeydew

shape an Australian rainforest ant community’)

Interests: Why so many insect species coexist and

feed on the same resources. His main objective is to

understand mechanisms of resource partitioning,

competition and specialisation in ant-plant, flower-

pollinator and plant-herbivore relationships, as

well as interspecific ant-ant, bee-bee and ant-bee

interactions

Drescher J, Blüthgen N, Schmitt T, Bühler

J, Feldhaar H (2010) Societies driftig

apart: behavioural, genetic and chemical

differentiation between supercolonies in

the yellow crazy ant Anoplolepis

gracilipes. PLoS One 5: e13581

Menzel F, Woywod M, Blüthgen N,

Schmitt T (2010) Behavioural and

chemical mechanisms behind a

Mediterranean ant-ant association.

Ecological Entomology

Leonhardt SD, Blüthgen N & Schmitt T (in

press) Chemical profiles of body surfaces

and nests from six Bornean stingless bee

species. Journal of Chemical Ecology

By Scott Trageser

WhoWho’’s Who: W. D. Hamilton (1936 s Who: W. D. Hamilton (1936

–– 2000)2000)

B. S. at St. John’s College, Cambridge

Ph.D. at London School of Economics and University

College of London

Hamilton’s Rule

Sex Ratios

Origins of Sex

Parasites

Contracted malaria in the Congo while researching

the AIDs virus

By Alex Walton

Who’s Who: Lars Chittka� Currently a Prof. in Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at the School of

Biological and Chemical Sciences at Queen Mary, University of London.

� Areas of Interest include: sensory physiology and learning psychology; insect color vision and flower signals; bee navigation; the evolution of cognition and communication; and pollination biology of invasive plants.

� Elected fellow of The Linnean Society of London and The Royal Entomological Society

� Past: Wurzburg University (senior lecturer)

SUNY Stony Brook (Post Doc)

Free University Berlin (Post Doc,PhD, MS)

� Publications:Skorupski P. & Chittka L. (2011). Is colour cognitive? Optics and Laser Technology 43:251-260

Chitka L, Skorupski P & NE Raine. (2009). Speed-accuracy tradeoffs in animal decision making. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 24: 400-407

, Chittka, L. (2004) Dances as windo3ws into insect perception. PLoS Biology 2:898-900.

, Chittka, L., Thomson, J.D. Waser, N.M (1999) Flower constancy, insect psychology, and plant

evolution. Naturwissenschaften 86: 361-377. By Alex Walton

Who's Who: Stephen Pratt

� Assistant Professor in Organismal,

� Integrative, and Systems Biology at ASU

� PhD at Cornell under Thomas Seeley

� Study Interest: Collective behavior; emergent

order; decision making during colony

emigration in Temnothorax

� “Quorum” sensing by encounter rates

� Use of robotics and algorithms to model

social insect behavior

By Alex Walton

J. Emmett DuffyProfessor of Marine Science

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

College of William and Mary

Ph.D. Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel

Hill

Research interests:

(1) studies of how animal functional diversity influences

community and ecosystem processes in seagrass beds of

Chesapeake Bay, and (2) systematic, ecological, and behavioral

studies of the evolutionary radiation of sponge-dwelling shrimp

on Caribbean reefs.

Selected publications:

Duffy, J.E. and K.S. Macdonald III (2010) Kin structure, ecology, and the evolution of social

organization in shrimp: A comparative analysis. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London

B Biological Sciences 277:575-584.

Duffy, J.E. (2006) Eusociality in a coral-reef shrimp. Nature 381: 512-514.

Tóth, E. and J.E. Duffy (2008) Influence of sociality on allometric growth and morphological

differentiation in sponge-dwelling alpheid shrimp. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

94:527-540.By Ryan Ruboyianes

Jürgen GadauAssociate professor

Organismal, Integrative, & Systems Biology

Arizona State University

Ph.D. 1997, University of Würzburg

Research interests:

The genetic basis of speciation and adaptation. The study of

social and solitary insects to describe how genetic and

epigenetic variations generate differences in observed

morphology, physiology and behavior.

Selected publications:

J. Gadau, et al. (2010) A comparison of recombination frequencies in intra- versus

interspecific mapping populations of Nasonia. Heredity.

J. Gadau, et al. (2008) Caste determination in a polymorphic social insect: nutritional, social,

and genetic factors. American Naturalist.

J. Gadau, et al. (2007) Sociality and genomic recombination. Heredity.

By Ryan Ruboyianes

Gene E. RobinsonProfessor

Department of Entomology

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Ph.D. 1986, Cornell University

Research interests:

“Using Apis mellifera to understand mechanisms governing

social behavior”

(1) Changes in honey bee brain structure (2) changes in honey

bee brain chemistry (3) genes influencing behavioral maturation

and division of labor.

Selected publications:

Robinson, G.E., Grozinger, C.M. and C.W. Whitfield. 2005. Sociogenomics: Social life in

molecular terms. Nature Reviews Genetics

Whitfield, C.W., Cziko, A.-M. and G.E. Robinson. 2003. Gene expression patterns in the

brain predict behavior in individual honey bees. Science 302: 296-299

Robinson, G.E. and Y. Ben-Shahar. 2002. Social behavior and comparative genomics: New

genes or new gene regulation? Genes, Brain and Behavior 1: 197-203

By Ryan Ruboyianes